Major snow blizzard halts US travel

Two people help push a car to get it free from the snow in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where the first big storm of the season has dumped more than 30 centimetres of snow in parts of the state.
Photo: Reuters

A massive and deadly winter snowstorm has blanketed the US midwest, grounding hundreds of planes and making roads and highways impassable as travellers gear up for the Christmas holiday.

The region's first big storm of the season dumped more than 30 centimetres of snow in parts of Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota on Thursday and more was expected as the powerful system moved slowly eastward.

Winds with gusts as high as 80 kilometres per hour felled trees and power lines, leaving tens of thousands of homes in the dark and cold.

"Travel will be dangerous and potentially life threatening if you become stranded," the National Weather Service reported.

"Emergency services and rescues could be halted for a period of time during the height of the storm."

At least one person was killed in a 25-vehicle pileup after conditions got so bad on a major Iowa highway that people couldn't see the cars and big trucks that had slowed down or stopped ahead of them.

Roads across the state were blocked by jack-knifed trucks and stalled cars as officials pleaded with people to stay home.

"It's time to listen to warnings and get off the road," said Colonel David Garrison of the Iowa State Patrol.